As the face of Canada’s independent media production industry, the CMPA works to promote the value of our sector to federal and provincial governments.

We regularly meet with government officials to advocate on critical issues to our industry, such as broadcasting, funding, copyright, taxation and trade. We participate in government consultations, appear before parliamentary committees, and undertake research to help government make informed decisions. To find past submissions to the federal government, go to our resource library and select the category “government submissions.”

The CMPA also regularly meets and communicates with elected officials, political staff and senior officials in government departments such as Canadian Heritage, Finance Canada, and Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada.

Contact

The CMPA represents the interests of Canadian independent producers in regulatory affairs, including before the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC).

Our goal is to maintain and improve upon Canada’s regulatory environment, so that independent producers are given every opportunity to thrive.

The CRTC regulates and supervises Canada’s broadcasting system, as mandated in the federal government’s Broadcasting Act. According to the Act, each element of the broadcasting system must contribute to the creation and presentation of Canadian programming, and must include a significant amount of programming from the Canadian independent production sector.

The CRTC engages in policy proceedings to set Canada’s broadcasting and telecommunications policies and regulations, and Canadian broadcasters apply to the CRTC for approval of new television licences, renewals and acquisitions. The CMPA intervenes in these proceedings to ensure that the perspective of Canadian independent producers is heard.

To find past CRTC submissions filed by the CMPA, go to our resource library and select the category “CRTC submissions.”

What we’ve been working on

OTTAWA, August 3, 2017—In a rebuttal letter published in yesterday’s Hill Times, Canada’s English-language private broadcasters (Bell Media, Corus Entertainment and Rogers Media) contested the facts of a joint open letter published a week earlier on July 24th by a coalition of 19 groups representing Canada’s screen-based media industry.

OTTAWA, July 24, 2017—Thousands of Canadians who value Canadian content or who work in the independent television production industry are deeply concerned about the recent CRTC licence renewal decisions for the English-language television groups.

OTTAWA, June 29, 2017—Today the Canadian Media Producers Association (CMPA), the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA), and the Directors Guild of Canada (DGC) submitted a joint petition to the Minister of Canadian Heritage, asking her to set aside, or refer back, the CRTC’s Group Licence Renewal decisions for Canada’s large television broadcasters, released last month.

The CMPA represents the interests of independent producers in their dealings with funders, broadcasters, distributors and VOD companies.

Key areas of focus include:

Ownership and retention of intellectual property

Development and production strategies

Licensing conditions

Editorial control

Rights

Equity and recoupment

Producer tax credits

Delivery and exploitation

Terms of Trade

Terms of Trade agreements between independent producers and Canada’s large private broadcasters provide a balanced framework for the negotiation of deals.

In 2011, the CMPA successfully negotiated a historic Terms of Trade agreement with Astral (now part of Bell Media), Bell Media, Corus Entertainment, Rogers Media and Shaw Media (now part of Corus Entertainment). (While Corus signed a separate Terms of Trade agreement, it contains no substantive differences from the agreement signed with the other broadcasters.)

The agreement applies to all independently produced projects produced during the term of the agreement, and is a condition of licence for these broadcasters imposed by the CRTC. This agreement remained in effect until August 31, 2017.

Terms of Trade continues to apply to agreements entered into with these broadcasters before September 1, 2017. However, going forward, producers can expect that these broadcasters will be presenting new deal terms that will be significantly less beneficial and less equitable to producers than they were under Terms of Trade. The Terms of Trade agreement remains a model framework for how producers may approach their dealings with these broadcasters.

Terms of Trade agreements

Astral Bell Rogers Shaw Terms of Trade agreement

Terms of Trade agreement between Astral Television Networks A Division of Astral Broadcasting Group Inc, Bell Media Inc, Rogers Broadcasting Limited, Shaw Media Inc, and the Canadian Media Production Association